Jamal and Hops looked at each other for a second, before beginning to laugh. What type of set up was this? They just looked at the confused man with the dagger who was shocked at first, then quickly changed his expression.
"We're not joking!" he yelled at them.
That just caused them to laugh even more, almost collapsing to the ground, until they saw the other bandit with the knife on the old man's next being pressed onto it, causing blood to drip from his hands.
"Okay, okay, we'll stop." they chuckled off.
They lead them to their carriage, where the others watched with curiosity. They noticed the bandits following behind with the old man whimpering in fear as they told them stay where they were.
"Now, nobody make a move or someone finna die. Once we take what we need, we about to take whatever cash you have on hand and then we're out of here." the bandit with the rusty dagger.
"Don't you realiz-" Hops began to say, before the dagger was right in front of his heart.
"I said don't make a move, and that includes talking!" the dagger bandit said before he went into their carriage to see what was valuable. Jamal just watched the bandit go into their stuff and pushed everything that wasn't valuable out of the carriage. They just finished organizing it again yesterday, and now they'll have to clean it up again. Disappointed, he slowly inched closer to Ula and once he was close enough he quietly muttered to her, "When he asks for our money, don't bring out all the money you have in your pockets, just a bit."
"Hey, who you think you talking to! Get back here!" the bandit with the knife to the old man's throat announced pushing it in deeper causing the man to screech, and Jamal complied.
Soon enough, the bandit came out with loads of cash and valuables that they had stored inside and went back to the old man's carriage to come back with a worn bag. With no hesitation, he quickly stuffed it inside and went up to each of them for what they had. He went to Ula first as Jamal watched as she handed him a small amount of what she really had on her.
"You think I'm stupid! I know you got more on you than you just gave me! Give it up!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. That's all I have on me." she lied to him, before getting back-handed, causing her to collapse on the ground, near the cliffside.
Jamal clenched his fists as they were beginning to steam lightly, but the bandit with the old man's life at stake grunted for him to stop, and he just sighed. The bandit went into her pockets and got all the money she really had and laughed as he shoved it inside the bag full of their valued possessions.
"Your next boy." the bandit went up to Jamal, with his hands out.
"Watch him, he got some powers." the bandit with the old man said.
Jamal eyed Ula, who got back up and didn't say a word. He looked back at the bandit, who spat in front of him, waiting for him to give up his money.
"I don't got all day."
"Fine," Jamal said, digging up a sliver of cash as well.
"Not you too with this game." the bandit began to say, before having the cash Jamal got out set aflame, causing him to pull his hand back in shock, before being punched into the hills above, creating a large cloud of dirt in the sky.
"Please, I didn't say anything to them," the old man began to explain, before the bandit threatening him slit his throat and dropped the dying body.
The bandit then began to rush towards Jamal, only for Hops to sweep him off his feet. Stumbling across the ground, the bandit latched his hands around the edge of the cliff, as rocks began to cling around his body. Before he was finished, Hops kicked him brutally off the edge, and a scream could be heard as the body pummeled down, before crashing to the rocks below and his remains collected by the waves.
"Did, did you just kill him?" Jamal looked at Hops in surprise.
"Had no choice, should probably be grateful that he didn't get yours." Hops said, turning back around.
Before he could talk to Ula and they could get a move on, something whizzed next to him, and they both leaped back carefully in shock as an arrow landed between them.
"Run, boys, run." the old man called to them, clutching his throat and raising his hands towards them, before another arrow penetrated his heart, killing him instantly.
"Protect the rest." Jamal told Hops, not looking at the fallen body.
"Understood."
Jamal walked across the road, as another arrow almost nicked Hops if he didn't move out the way. Looking carefully, he could see a light covering that didn't blend with the surroundings that well and fired a fireball on it. Moving out the way, was a woman in light clothing with a quiver full of arrows, as she leaped into the air with three of them ready to be fired from her bow at once. Of course, they weren't going to make this easier.
Focusing, Jamal fired multiple fireballs at her, but somehow narrowly avoided the attack. This was going to be harder than it looked. Getting into his "sparking" form, he rushed her from the ground as she finally landed back on land, only for her to move back cautiously. Not giving up ground, he moved faster towards her and was able to land a direct hit to the face, causing her to loosen her grip on the bow. Grabbing it, Jamal instantly put it on fire, only for his eyes to widen as he felt a sharp sting to the side of his stomach. Looking down, he saw a rusty dagger covered lightly in some purple substance. Beginning to cough, he found the man he punched earlier staring at him with a grin, breathing heavily.
"Can't wait for the poison to take effect, especially the more you use those powers of yours." he laughed, until another fireball landed on him, causing him to move around the ground in pain.
Jamal turned back to the woman, who was searching in the bushes for what would probably be another weapon. Jamal fired a blast towards her, as she barely sidestepped out of the way, crashing back onto the road, before firing an arrow towards his way. He could feel it as it nicked the side where the dagger was still stuck to him, causing him to hiss in pain. Resisting still, he grabbed the hilt as he quickly pulled it out, causing more blood to gush out. Dropping the dirty weapon, he coughed a bit harder, as smoke was beginning to come off his back. It was at this moment he knew it was getting bad when he wasn't completely on fire which caused his back to start smoking.
The woman began to smirk as she fired more arrows towards him. This time, Jamal stumbled back awkwardly, luckily allowing him to avoid the shafts. He began firing multiple fireballs at her from a distance, but they were much weaker, as he lowered his arms down, unable to bring them up. He was becoming unconscious by the second and it would only be a matter of time before he would probably die. It almost caused him to stifle a tear, but he had to stay strong even to the end.
Taking one last breath, he concentrated deeply as he felt the wind of the arrows soar past him. Feeling the heat, he opened his eyes, only to see the woman gone, and Hops holding a broken bow in front of him. Looking at himself, he wasn't even on fire like before, not even in his "sparking" form now. He grinned, as he assumed they probably won it.
"Is Ula okay?" he managed to ask, before collapsing on the ground.